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Africa: Covid or the Common Cold? What to Do If You Have Symptoms This Christmas
The Conversation Africa, 22 December 2022
There's a lot to be jolly about this Christmas. COVID has been significantly, although not completely, "defanged", thanks to vaccines and treatments. Christmas dos, nativity plays… Read more »
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South Africa: Additional Covid-19 Booster Doses to Be Made Available
SAnews.gov.za, 21 December 2022
The Department of Health says additional COVID-19 vaccine booster doses will be made available to provide ongoing protection, especially for older people and those who are… Read more »
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Africa: Covid Hit Companies Hard. Why Some Kept Their Sustainability Commitments, and Others Didn't
The Conversation Africa, 21 December 2022
Covid-19 has had profound implications for the "role of business in society". One of them is the pandemic's effect on companies' sustainability strategies. These are efforts to… Read more »
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Africa: No, Covid Vaccination in Africa Not Just 6 Percent, As Tweet Claims - Uptake Improving
Africa Check, 19 December 2022
IN SHORT: A tweet that claims only 6% of the African population is vaccinated against Covid is false. The actual figure, according to the World Health Organisation, is 21%. Read more »
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Africa: Masks Are Still a Tried-and-True Way to Help Keep Yourself and Others Safe
The Conversation Africa, 14 December 2022
The cold and flu season of 2022 has begun with a vengeance. Viruses that have been unusually scarce over the past three years are reappearing at remarkably high levels, sparking a… Read more »
Covid-19 or Common Cold? How to Pinpoint Symptoms This Christmas
In previous years, in many countries, there were laws, policies and guidelines around what to do if you were ill (although these were at times conflicting and confusing). This year, it's pretty much down to personal responsibility and "common sense".
There is still Covid-19-related guidance out there, for example from the World Health Organization. Yet the challenge is knowing if you have Covid-19 in the first place.
Part of the problem is how many Covid-19 symptoms are common to other respiratory illnesses. The symptoms of newer Covid-19 variants are no longer as distinctive as they were with the original strain (for example, a "continuous cough" or a loss of taste or smell).
The most common Covid-19 symptoms now include a sore throat, runny or blocked nose, and a cough without phlegm. These are also common cold and flu symptoms.
In short, if in doubt, buy a Covid-19 test. Admittedly, this is easier said than done during a cost of living crisis. Testing is the only way to know for sure if your cough or sneeze is due to Covid-19, writes Simon Nicholas Williams for The Conversation.
InFocus
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Member States of the World Health Organization have agreed to develop the first draft of a legally binding agreement designed to protect the world from future pandemics. This "zero ... Read more »
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The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 10.6 million people fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) in 2021, an increase of 4.5% from 2020, and 1.6 million people died from TB ... Read more »
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According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Covid-19 vaccination coverage has stagnated in half of African countries, while the number of doses administered monthly declined ... Read more »
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A new global report highlights massive global failures in the response to Covid-19, which resulted in an estimated 17.7 million excess deaths (including those not reported) to ... Read more »
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Much has been said about the long-term effects of Covid-19 on people who contracted the virus, but whose symptoms continue to persist long after the initial infection has passed. ... Read more »
